Las Vegas NowI-Team: Closing in on a Cold Case

I-Team: Closing in on a Cold Case

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas police detectives working on unsolved crimes have received a major boost. A half-million dollar grant will allow cold case detectives to run DNA tests on samples dating back many years.

One of the first cases to benefit from the new funds is that of Jamey Walker, an 18-year-old beauty queen who was kidnapped from her home, held for ransom and then murdered. Investigators think they are finally closing in on a suspect.

Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp has covered this story since the day of the murder back in 1981. It was his first week at Channel 8 and the first homicide he covered. It's a story that has stayed with him all these years, which is true for a lot of people.

It was unusual case in several ways -- one is that there were so many rumors flying about who might be involved and that there were too many suspects for Metro to handle. But each of the cold case detectives who have worked it over the years have whittled down the names, crossed some off the list and today they are closer than ever.

"I think the suspect is right there in that file. I think with a little assistance from the public, we can put a case together," said former Metro detective Dave Hatch in 2004.

Detective Hatch was on the scene back in May of 1981 when the crushed body of Walker was found in the Las Vegas Wash. She had been thrown from an overpass and suffered massive injuries on the rocks below. Crime reports say there was semen inside of her.

Flash-forward to 2009. On windy afternoon, Eleanor and Jimmy Walker visit a gravesite on what would have been Jamey's 47th birthday. "We feel closer to bringing the people to justice who did this horrible thing to you baby," said Eleanor.

For the Walker family, 28 years have gone by in a painful flash. Not a day passes without thinking about Jamey. She was, by all descriptions, a model teenager - an honor student, cheerleader, prom queen and deeply religious. Her scrapbook reflects a typical teen's interests and aspirations. Her mom is sure she'd be involved in politics or civil rights, just as her family has been for generations. "At the very least she would have been leading some effort here to change something. I wouldn't have to worry about F Street if she were living," she said.

Although Metro detectives were criticized in the beginning for dragging their feet on the case, it's clear from the thick file that they followed hundreds of leads, interviewed dozens of witnesses and suspects, and continued to work it for years. They almost had too many suspects. "I would consider it maybe too many -- the usual suspects," said Metro Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts.

Lt. Roberts oversees what is now a small cold case team. He says of the 200 or so active, solvable cases, the Jamey Walker file is the one that always seems to stand out in the minds and hearts of his detectives. "It's an unusual crime for Vegas to begin with. We have a little girl kidnapped, a sizeable ransom demand, and then the murder," he said.

Jamey was snatched from her home in the early morning hours. Police speculate that a woman or someone she knew talked her into unlocking the door. An African American male phoned Jamey's father with a ransom demand. A second African American man called later and then Jamey called saying she was being released. It didn't happen.

Dave Culver, the seventh detective to work the case, thinks it can be solved. "We have science behind us now with DNA and DNA technology," he said.

Fortunately, the original investigators retained DNA samples from the crime scene. Metro is reluctant to say much about new test results in Jamey's case except that a prime suspect cannot be ruled out. It's the same suspect named by Mrs. Walker from day one, Willie Shannon. "He's a person of interest. We have a very strong interest in him," said Det. Culver.

Shannon, a former professional boxer, lived next to the Walkers and had been flirting with Jamey in the weeks leading up to her death. Jamey asked her father to make Shannon back off.

Shannon's arrest record spans two pages. He served several years for raping another neighborhood girl and is strongly suspected in other sexual assaults. He fits the general description of a man seen at a rest stop near Lake Mead with a girl who looked like Jamey. In his brief interview with Metro after the kidnapping, Shannon told at least two lies.

Jamey's brother Jimmy, who did time with him in prison, says Shannon frightened young girls into doing whatever he wanted. "He would take young girls to his house and he had big dogs and he would threaten them with the dogs -- like he would sick em. And he would say, ‘If you tell, I'm going to get you,'" he said.

Fear of Shannon and fear of the police have prevented witnesses from coming forward, Eleanor Walker says. Five years ago, we took her for the first time to the overpass where Jamey died. It was an emotional experience for her but she persevered in the belief that publicity might get someone to come forward. Now, she's making that plea again. "I believe that people I speak to and are around, some of them know exactly what happened. They know enough to help us solve this case," she said.

The DNA tests alone will not solve this case. The I-Team has been told the tests so far are promising and more are being conducted right now. There could be some movement on the case within the next six months, but prosecutors will need at least one more witness.

Someone likely has the missing piece of information and knows exactly what happened. You are urged to call Metro detectives at (702) 828-COLD. If you don't want to talk to the police, email George Knapp or give him a call at (702) 792-8800.